Well hello again. We have just returned from 4 days in the cloud forest reserve of Monteverde. This is truly one of the magical places of the earth. Huge fairytale trees, each supporting its own vast ecosystem, tower above us insignificant humans and remind us how short-lived and small we are. Looking at the forest from an opposite hillside reminded the boys of seeing a bunch of broccoli clustered together in the supermarket. As we stepped of the bus a small grey fox was warily poking about looking for carelessly dropped crumbs of human food. A coatimundi also showed up the next day and whiffled about doing the same thing. Grampa illicitly fed it a small piece of chocolate for which it was slobberingly grateful.
The first morning we were there a troop of Capuchin monkeys obligingly appeared and performed some stunning acrobatics for our benefit. Many pictures were taken and all the humans ooooohh’ed and awwww’ed in a very gratifying manner. Liam found a stick insect which you see to the right and we all spent some time just marveling at the many different kinds of humming birds that were zooming around in a frenetic manner.
One of the days that the whole sampling team set out to pull soil cores, grampa, Liam and I went with them as far as the ridge of the Continental Divide, yes Virginia, the CD. On one side we could see the Pacific and on the other we saw the Atlantic. As grampa pointed out, the misty rain falling on us could end up in either ocean depending on where it fell. That same day Bobby continued on with the sampling team and finished the whole exhausting day with them, stumbling back to the lodge in a torrential downpour. Way to go, Bobby!!!
While the team was busy we went to see a serpentarium in the quaint little town of Santa Elena. Out of deference to my mother who is faithfully watching our journey through this blog I will not post any pictures of the inhabitants therein but Brian, wait till you see them. Way cool (except they were in captivity, safely behind glass where they weren’t tempted to demonstrate their irritation). The bus ride to and from this mystical aerie was an adventure in itself. Very steep, deeply rutted, rocky roads that came perilously close to the edges. We could look out the windows and see nothing but canyon beneath us (so I didn’t look).
So, off to do school work now, I’m running a little behind as internet access can be unreliable and spotty.
A special congratulations to my sister Jenni and her husband Stan on the birth of their first baby. A boy, 6 pounds even (don’t know his name yet). Can’t wait for pictures!
Michelle
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
July 19th, 2008
Greetings! The Costa Rica contingent remains alive and well apart from a couple of us coming down with some minor stomach ailment. The general mood here is usually always upbeat with the occasional day of dragging fatigue. The students and their professors are all up very early, racing to the dining room to bolt down some breakfast and then off to the field or the labs. Many of them have already been up on early morning observations or data collections. Lunch time sees them emerging from their various sites, blinking in the bright light (under the canopy is pretty dim) quite sweaty and dirty but happy. Many of them take a packed lunch into the field and stay out all day. Dinner time is quite bubbly but quickly dies down as everybody heads back to their rooms for a shower and bed. Some late afternoons the boys and I will (my little boys….ahem) lie on our bed with the fan pointed on us and watch a movie on my computer.
The boys have a Spanish lesson every day as well as some reading comprehension and math drills (grampa is such a good teacher). When those are done they ride their bikes over the suspension bridge to go play foos-ball or ping-pong. One the way they grab some fallen fruit to feed the fish (great fun). They are both now engaged in writing a story which makes it hard to get computer time. The other day Bobby spotted a small boa constrictor huddled up under one of the benches in the atrium. He/she was very beautiful but quite small, probably a baby. The staff carefully moved “it” to a tree. There was a large Marine Toad lurking outside our door the other night that Bill wisely advised I not lick …….(!!?) Phew, that was close!
We went out with one of the researchers the other day to look at the bat colony she has been observing. It was especially cute because we could see a couple of the “pups” nursing from their mothers. It’s also really nice to have someone explain what some of the behaviors mean. Further on that same trail is a small hand-operated pulley-type gondola-thingy (you can sense I’m having trouble giving it a proper name) which two people can get into and pull themselves across the river. I have yet to give that a go as it’s being repaired at the moment.
We had another tree fall very close to one of the dormitories which gave the people inside quite a turn. The power was out for most of the next day but gave us all something to goggle at.
We are headed to the Cloud Forests on Tuesday to visit with our friend Olivier Chassot. I’ll post pictures of that adventure as well. Talk to you soon.
Michelle
The boys have a Spanish lesson every day as well as some reading comprehension and math drills (grampa is such a good teacher). When those are done they ride their bikes over the suspension bridge to go play foos-ball or ping-pong. One the way they grab some fallen fruit to feed the fish (great fun). They are both now engaged in writing a story which makes it hard to get computer time. The other day Bobby spotted a small boa constrictor huddled up under one of the benches in the atrium. He/she was very beautiful but quite small, probably a baby. The staff carefully moved “it” to a tree. There was a large Marine Toad lurking outside our door the other night that Bill wisely advised I not lick …….(!!?) Phew, that was close!
We went out with one of the researchers the other day to look at the bat colony she has been observing. It was especially cute because we could see a couple of the “pups” nursing from their mothers. It’s also really nice to have someone explain what some of the behaviors mean. Further on that same trail is a small hand-operated pulley-type gondola-thingy (you can sense I’m having trouble giving it a proper name) which two people can get into and pull themselves across the river. I have yet to give that a go as it’s being repaired at the moment.
We had another tree fall very close to one of the dormitories which gave the people inside quite a turn. The power was out for most of the next day but gave us all something to goggle at.
We are headed to the Cloud Forests on Tuesday to visit with our friend Olivier Chassot. I’ll post pictures of that adventure as well. Talk to you soon.
Michelle
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Wetwetwetwetwet!
Rainy Season! Everything is permanently damp. Clothes and sheets are damp and things don’t dry well because the air is so humid. I thank the patron saint of laundry, Saint Maytag, every day that there is a washer and dryer on site or we would all be growing mildew by now.
The night before last we went out into the swamp (in the…wait for it…………pouring rain) to look for frogs and were happy to get some good shots. We are fortunate to have a boardwalk on which to stand otherwise we’d have to slog into it with hipwaders, something I’m absolutely not prepared to do. The picture to the right will attest to my reason (shudder). The night after we were there (last night) a giant tree fell on the boardwalk and shattered it to splinters – nobody hurt.
Today we walked under a troop of spider monkeys all the while trying to avoid the missiles made up of various chunks of flora they felt compelled to pelt us with (thankfully no poo, Brian). One of the females had a baby clinging tightly to her back. On the way home I spied a sloth hanging around in a languid manner, also with a baby clinging to her belly.
We were just now interrupted by grampa who has just returned from a solitary jaunt where he spied a yellow eyelash pit viper. This of course, requires that we quickly dress-up in jungle gear and race out (890 meters from the beginning of the trail) to see if we can get some shots for ourselves………………OK, back. Guess what? It’s pounding with rain again but we got some great shots. Beautiful little snake. News travels fast so on the way back in we had to avoid a stampede of naturalists on their way out to catch a glimpse for themselves. There is now a hotdog stand on the trail and people are selling tickets :o)
Last night we had a glass of wine with Deedra (Station Director) at her cabin and got to see a possum that had been trapped (and subsequently released). The boys were delighted, especially because every time they moved he hissed/growled/groaned at them (funny noise).
Tomorrow is Monday so I will go and set up some arrangements to spend some time in the clinic in town. I understand from the people here that it’s quite an adventure. I’ll write more about that when I have some info. Hopefully this will allow me to gather the data I’m looking for with regard to infectious disease incidence.
Talk to you soon.
Michelle
The night before last we went out into the swamp (in the…wait for it…………pouring rain) to look for frogs and were happy to get some good shots. We are fortunate to have a boardwalk on which to stand otherwise we’d have to slog into it with hipwaders, something I’m absolutely not prepared to do. The picture to the right will attest to my reason (shudder). The night after we were there (last night) a giant tree fell on the boardwalk and shattered it to splinters – nobody hurt.
Today we walked under a troop of spider monkeys all the while trying to avoid the missiles made up of various chunks of flora they felt compelled to pelt us with (thankfully no poo, Brian). One of the females had a baby clinging tightly to her back. On the way home I spied a sloth hanging around in a languid manner, also with a baby clinging to her belly.
We were just now interrupted by grampa who has just returned from a solitary jaunt where he spied a yellow eyelash pit viper. This of course, requires that we quickly dress-up in jungle gear and race out (890 meters from the beginning of the trail) to see if we can get some shots for ourselves………………OK, back. Guess what? It’s pounding with rain again but we got some great shots. Beautiful little snake. News travels fast so on the way back in we had to avoid a stampede of naturalists on their way out to catch a glimpse for themselves. There is now a hotdog stand on the trail and people are selling tickets :o)
Last night we had a glass of wine with Deedra (Station Director) at her cabin and got to see a possum that had been trapped (and subsequently released). The boys were delighted, especially because every time they moved he hissed/growled/groaned at them (funny noise).
Tomorrow is Monday so I will go and set up some arrangements to spend some time in the clinic in town. I understand from the people here that it’s quite an adventure. I’ll write more about that when I have some info. Hopefully this will allow me to gather the data I’m looking for with regard to infectious disease incidence.
Talk to you soon.
Michelle
Friday, July 11, 2008
Still Kickin'
Hi Everybody,
The last couple of days have been just as full as the first couple. We have walked several more trails and the boys (especially Bobby) have developed their own favorites. Yesterday we put on our fluorescent orange rain ponchos and went walking through the swamp area. Most other species had the sense to hunker down and get out of the rain but we were rewarded by seeing a small caiman trying to look like submerged log. When we got back to the house we found a giant grasshopper thingy clinging to one of our chairs and a pretty little toad (a litter toad) cowering in the doorway. The poor little thing promptly peed all over my hand when I picked it up but suffered the indignity of being handled and turned upside-down (identification purposes) with good grace. We released it into a puddle off the back porch but it sat there for a long time trying to overcome the trauma. The same scenario was replayed this morning over breakfast when a similar giant grasshopper thingy came to dine with us. It was required to show us its under-wing color and be photographed before it was allowed to go about its business. A highlight of the day for the boys was seeing a robin-sized bird beating a lizard to death on a tree branch. Macabre I know, but you had to be there, it was pretty funny.
Last night we had a music get-together with some researchers and students. One of the students brought her fiddle and the rest contributed guitar music. It was great fun. B-dog convinced some of the (very) attentive male students to get up and do a jig. Everybody had fun. Liam fell asleep so Dad, Liam and I walked back to the cabin, over the suspension bridge, in the dark. The boys will have some pretty great memories of this experience, although at this point they’re still quite jumpy about insects/spiders. Interestingly enough they have been watching with fascination a big Golden Orb-Weaver in her web not far from the cabin. They were very upset when somebody destroyed her nest and she died the next day. Currently, a little wasp is eating her up (ewwwww, I know). There is a bug screen setup on one of the walkways that has a black-light turned on at night. Last night we saw a huge Harlequin beetle and several big moths. Very pretty.
Today I’m doing laundry (no, I could not escape it, even down here) and will take Bobby back out on the trails once I’ve recharged the camera battery. Guaranteed you will see something fantastic when the camera is not with you or is dead. Murphy’s law. After the walk I’ll get to some homework and some GIS stuff (I hope).
Check back soon.
PS. B-dog has a blog as well (very funny, big surprise) http://www.brendacampbell-costarica.blogspot.com/
The last couple of days have been just as full as the first couple. We have walked several more trails and the boys (especially Bobby) have developed their own favorites. Yesterday we put on our fluorescent orange rain ponchos and went walking through the swamp area. Most other species had the sense to hunker down and get out of the rain but we were rewarded by seeing a small caiman trying to look like submerged log. When we got back to the house we found a giant grasshopper thingy clinging to one of our chairs and a pretty little toad (a litter toad) cowering in the doorway. The poor little thing promptly peed all over my hand when I picked it up but suffered the indignity of being handled and turned upside-down (identification purposes) with good grace. We released it into a puddle off the back porch but it sat there for a long time trying to overcome the trauma. The same scenario was replayed this morning over breakfast when a similar giant grasshopper thingy came to dine with us. It was required to show us its under-wing color and be photographed before it was allowed to go about its business. A highlight of the day for the boys was seeing a robin-sized bird beating a lizard to death on a tree branch. Macabre I know, but you had to be there, it was pretty funny.
Last night we had a music get-together with some researchers and students. One of the students brought her fiddle and the rest contributed guitar music. It was great fun. B-dog convinced some of the (very) attentive male students to get up and do a jig. Everybody had fun. Liam fell asleep so Dad, Liam and I walked back to the cabin, over the suspension bridge, in the dark. The boys will have some pretty great memories of this experience, although at this point they’re still quite jumpy about insects/spiders. Interestingly enough they have been watching with fascination a big Golden Orb-Weaver in her web not far from the cabin. They were very upset when somebody destroyed her nest and she died the next day. Currently, a little wasp is eating her up (ewwwww, I know). There is a bug screen setup on one of the walkways that has a black-light turned on at night. Last night we saw a huge Harlequin beetle and several big moths. Very pretty.
Today I’m doing laundry (no, I could not escape it, even down here) and will take Bobby back out on the trails once I’ve recharged the camera battery. Guaranteed you will see something fantastic when the camera is not with you or is dead. Murphy’s law. After the walk I’ll get to some homework and some GIS stuff (I hope).
Check back soon.
PS. B-dog has a blog as well (very funny, big surprise) http://www.brendacampbell-costarica.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
We're Here!!
Well, here we are at the end of our first real day at La Selva. Our day of travel was long and tedious with very little to redeem it. Crowded airplanes, crowded airports, tiny little airplane seats, snacks that you now have to purchase (and they suck), sullen staff and a fat man with a really bad rug (it only went halfway down the back of his head and was an unfortunate rust color while whatever hair he had left was curly white)(ring, ring) who was a “talent agent – midrange mind you.” I think you get the picture. Bill and our driver met us at the airport and we proceeded to experience a two-hour midnight drive that was made all the more exciting as our driver very cleverly used every bit of the road – on-coming lane as well!
Today we went on our first trail walk. The boys saw Howler monkeys on their way back from breakfast (the boys, not the monkeys). There is also a herd of peccaries (piggy things) living in the compound. I’ve included a picture of a small group with their babies. Our cabin is supplied with the requisite number of geckos, ants, spiders and flying things so as to make sure our experience is truly authentic (they’re so thoughtful). We have seen a number of beautiful birds, large insects, a land crab in its hole, jewel-colored lizards and some bird nests that are woven into long, hanging structures (Orapendulas). The most interesting of species however, is the number scientific-types running about earnestly trying to unlock the secrets of a tropical rainforest (I could watch them for hours!). I miss you all and am hoping you are well. Will add soon.
Michelle
Today we went on our first trail walk. The boys saw Howler monkeys on their way back from breakfast (the boys, not the monkeys). There is also a herd of peccaries (piggy things) living in the compound. I’ve included a picture of a small group with their babies. Our cabin is supplied with the requisite number of geckos, ants, spiders and flying things so as to make sure our experience is truly authentic (they’re so thoughtful). We have seen a number of beautiful birds, large insects, a land crab in its hole, jewel-colored lizards and some bird nests that are woven into long, hanging structures (Orapendulas). The most interesting of species however, is the number scientific-types running about earnestly trying to unlock the secrets of a tropical rainforest (I could watch them for hours!). I miss you all and am hoping you are well. Will add soon.
Michelle
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